Research into heredity and diseases is no longer possible without programmers. If you want to apply your IT and biology skills to real-life problems in the world of health and disease, then the unique Advanced Bachelor of Bioinformatics in Bruges is for you!

Bioinformatics is a new and spectacular field using methods from informatics to store and process molecular biological information (DNA, proteins, functions). In bioinformatics, molecular biology is combined with informatics and programming. A bioinformatics scientist is capable of retrieving the necessary information from databases and using it to make predictions. They play an important role in the development of new medicines for the treatment of cancer, Alzheimer’s, and beyond.

Over the course of the bioinformatics training programme, 3 roles are covered, viz. the role of programmer, the role of informatics scientist and the role of bioinformatics scientist.

• Programmer / integration by scripting and automation of bioinformatics’ tools.

• Informatics scientist / storage, organisation and sharing of molecular biological data in database systems.

• Bioinformatics scientist / data processing and analysis by means of bioinformatics’ tools in a dry lab.

You will learn programming languages like PHP, Python and R and use the most relevant databases for processing and interpreting data. Special emphasis is on standard and essential tools, both in a Windows and in a Linux environment. During the traineeship (without bachelor test) a fourth role is addressed, that of the new young professional, in which the more basic competences of a bachelor (such as team player, communicator, …) are pursued.

As the training progresses, you will become more and more familiar with the processing of complex biological data, like next generation sequencing data (NGS data), and you will be able to apply these within a professional framework.